9th SEA-Teacher Program Evaluation Meeting: Fostering Future Educators in Southeast Asia
The 9th SEA-Teacher Program Evaluation Meeting, a significant event in the realm of educational collaboration in Southeast Asia, was held from June 21-22, 2024. The meeting aimed to evaluate the achievements and challenges faced during the 9th batch of the SEA-Teacher Program and to discuss future directions for the initiative. The meeting brought together representatives from approximately 200 participating universities in the 9th batch of SEATeacher plus additional interested universities across Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Korea and was jointly hosted by Chiang Rai Rajabhat University and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat.
Universitas PGRI Madiun also actively participated in this meeting with Marheny Lukitasari, M.Pd, as Vice Rector 2, and Sri Lestari, M.Pd. as Head of the Cooperation and Public Relations Bureau as representatives of UNIPMA.
The meeting commenced with a warm welcome from Dr. Natthaphon Santhi, the President of Chiang Rai Rajabhat University. He expressed his gratitude to the attendees for their participation and emphasized the importance of such collaborative efforts in enhancing the quality of education across Southeast Asia. This was followed by the opening remarks from Datuk Dr. Habibah Abdul Rahim, the Director of SEAMEO. She highlighted the crucial role of the SEA-Teacher Program in promoting international co-curricular training and fostering cross-cultural understanding among future educators. The SEA-Teacher Program facilitates a one-month teaching exchange among pre-service student teachers from Southeast Asian countries. This initiative allows student teachers to gain valuable teaching experience and cultural exposure by teaching in schools in different countries.
The 9th SEA-Teacher Program Evaluation Meeting was a resounding success, reaffirming the importance of international educational collaborations in fostering professional development and cultural exchange. The insights and recommendations from this meeting are expected to pave the way for an even more impactful and inclusive SEA-Teacher Program in the future. As Southeast Asia continues to prioritize education as a key driver of development, initiatives like the SEA-Teacher Program play a vital role in preparing the next generation of educators to meet the challenges of an increasingly interconnected world.
